Vegan Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Tall, soft, fluffy, and so dang delicious! This vegan cinnamon swirl bread tastes amazing, perfect for beginners, and makes the whole house smell so good. Naturally dairy free and egg free!
This vegan cinnamon bread is warm, soft and tender, with the most unreal cinnamon and brown sugar swirl inside. With only a few simple ingredients, you can mix up a big loaf of this to enjoy on the weekends or anytime you’re craving a slice of comfort.
All without dairy or eggs!
Cinnamon bread has been something that has always existed in my house. It’s one of my Dad’s favorite things for breakfast: A cup of coffee (black) and two slices of cinnamon bread (toasted with butter). This is now one of his favorite recipes that I make and it’s often requested.
Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients, complete with recipe quantities, please see the recipe box below.
- Plant Based Milk: I suggest to use unflavored and unsweetened soy milk for the best results. It has the right protein and fat percentage to develop the bread nicely. You could also make this with almond milk. I haven’t tried it with other plant based milks. For more on what dairy free products I recommend for baking, check out my article on “Best Substitutions for Dairy Free Baking“.
- All Purpose Flour: For this bread, I always used King Arthur All Purpose Flour which has about 11% protein in each bag. I developed this recipe to work with simple all purpose, however, you could use bread flour if you like. I would recommend to use half bread and half all-purpose. I don’t recommend that you use whole wheat flour as it’s too heavy and the shape of the whole wheat germ itself can interfere with gluten development.
Variations
- In addition to the cinnamon sugar mixture, try adding raisins or chopped walnuts or chopped pecans to the bread. Bake as directed.
- This makes for the most UNREAL vegan french toast! Use the recipe for the french toast with slices of this bread and you are in breakfast bliss!
Instructions
Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.
- Prepare the dough: The first step is to make the dough itself. You don’t need to use a stand mixer, but having one can help! But yes, you can make it by hand. Just use a nice big bowl and mix the ingredients together, making sure the plant based milk is about 110F/43C.
- First Rise. Cover the bowl loosely with a clean kitchen towel and place it in a warm spot. I like to make a cup of tea and place the hot kettle next to the bowl while it rises.
- Shaping. Roll out the dough to about 8×20-inches so you have lots of room to work with! The longer the dough, the more cinnamon rolls you’ll get in the middle.
- Second Rise. Place the rolled dough into a parchment paper lined bread pan (mine is 8×10-inches) and let rise for about 30 more minutes or until the bread is just over the top of the pan. Brush it with some warm plant based milk on top.
- Baking. Bake the loaf uncovered for 45-55 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads at 190F+/80C+.
- Cooling and Enjoy! Now comes the hardest part! Letting it cool before you slice! Remove the bread from the hot pan immediately after baking and let it cool at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Tip! Don’t add cinnamon directly to the dough itself, only add it to the swirl in the middle with the sugar and plant milk. Cinnamon can inhibit yeast development which can make your loaf more dense and not well baked. To increase the intensity of flavor, add cinnamon to the icing drizzle on top.
Bread Making Tips
My bread keeps having a big empty dome on top! Why?
No worries, the taste won’t be affected at all. A few things might be going on to make this happen.
First, make sure that you are adding the plant based milk to the rolled out dough before adding the cinnamon sugar mixture. This acts as the “glue” to help hold the dough together while baking.
If you have done that, then you might want to look at the timing of the bread. A loaf can get that dome on top if the bread is under or over proofed. Rather than going by time, try going by sight to know when to roll the dough and when to add it to the oven.
Now, you might be adding too much cinnamon. I have done that with this bread! I added a heaping tablespoon to this loaf and it really created a tall dome. Cinnamon can prevent dough from rising all the way. If you’ve added extra cinnamon to the mixture, it could be causing this.
If after all that, you still have some dome on top, you can take a toothpick and right before baking, poke 3 little holes in the top layer of the bread. This will allow the steam to come out, preventing that dome from forming.
How to Store
Countertop: Cover the bread lightly and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Fridge: Store the bread in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Freezer: Baked bread freezes amazingly well! Wrap the baked and cooled loaf in plastic wrap and then in a freezer safe container. Store for up to 3 months. Allow the loaf to thaw in the fridge overnight and then on the countertop before serving after freezing.
Cinnamon Recipes
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Equipment
- Mixing bowls and mixing spoons
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Stand mixer, optional
- Bread loaf pan
- Parchment paper (optional)
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1 cup plant based milk warmed to 110F/80C
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons bread flour optional more all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons plant based milk
Instructions
- Proof the yeast. In a large mixing bowl, combine the warmed plant based milk with the granulated sugar and the active dry yeast. Whisk to combine, then cover with a clean towel and let rest for 10 minutes to activate. If the yeast is not foamy, no worries, just start again. If the yeast is foamy, continue with the recipe.
- Mix the dough. In that large mixing bowl, add the flour, bread flour (or more all purpose), salt, vanilla, and oil. Knead until a smooth dough forms. In my stand mixer, this is between 5 to 6 minutes. By hand, this is more like 8 to 10 minutes. When the dough is smooth and is tacky but not sticky, let it rise.
- First rise. Lightly oil a bowl and place the bread dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour. You can let this go up to 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the dough isn’t rising after that amount of time, you can decide to continue on with the recipe or start again. If it has risen some, you can still make the recipe, it just might be a smaller loaf.
- Mix the filling. While the dough is rising, in a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Prep the pan. Line your bread pan with parchment paper for the easiest removal.
- Shaping the dough. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to a size of about 7 inches by 20 inches. I like to have the dough very long to get more swirls! Lightly brush the dough with the 2 tablespoons of plant based milk before sprinkling over top the cinnamon sugar mixture. Tightly roll the dough and place it in the prepared loaf pan seam side down. Tuck the ends under slightly.
- Second rise. Cover the dough again and place in a warm place to rise a second time. This is usually 30 minutes but can take up to 1 hour depending on the weather and temperature. You want the dough to be slightly above the edge of the pan.
- Preheat the oven. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven.
- Baking. Before placing in the oven, brush the top with the remaining tablespoon of plant based milk. Bake the bread uncovered for 40 to 50 minutes. An instant thermometer will read over 190°F/83°C for finished bread.
- Cooling and enjoy! Remove the loaf from the hot pan right away and let it rest on a cooling rack for at least an hour. You can optionally cover it with a simple icing of 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Slice, serve, and enjoy!!
Notes
Nutrition
More Bread Recipes
Learn how to make the best vegan bread recipes for every occasion! From classic recipes like a vegan pizza crust to the best cinnamon rolls you could ask for to more recipes like Polish Rye bread, vegan Hawaiian rolls, and even sweet challah bread! These recipes are perfect as a side dish for soups, the base for an amazing sandwich, or just enjoying with some vegan butter. Enjoy!!
